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Pacific Rim
Pacific Rim Uprising: Official Movie Novelization
The official novelization to the upcoming Pacific Rim Uprising movie, the sequel to Guillermo del Toro’s critically acclaimed Pacific Rim.
It has been ten years since The Battle of the Breach and the oceans are still, but restless. Vindicated by the victory at the Breach, the Jaeger program has evolved into the most powerful global defense force in human history. The PPDC now calls upon the best and brightest to rise up and become the next generation of heroes when the Kaiju threat returns.
304 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 27, 2018
About the author
Alexander C. Irvine
190 books200 followersAlexander C. Irvine is an American fantasist and science fiction writer. He also writes under the pseudonym Alex Irvine. He first gained attention with his novel A Scattering of Jades and the stories that would form the collection Unintended Consequences. He has also published the Grail quest novel One King, One Soldier, and the World War II-era historical fantasy The Narrows.
In addition to his original works, Irvine has published Have Robot, Will Travel, a novel set in Isaac Asimov's positronic robot milieu; and Batman: Inferno, about the DC Comics superhero.
His academic background includes an M.A. in English from the University of Maine and a PhD from the University of Denver. He is an assistant professor of English at the University of Maine. He also worked for a time as a reporter at the Portland Phoenix.
In addition to his original works, Irvine has published Have Robot, Will Travel, a novel set in Isaac Asimov's positronic robot milieu; and Batman: Inferno, about the DC Comics superhero.
His academic background includes an M.A. in English from the University of Maine and a PhD from the University of Denver. He is an assistant professor of English at the University of Maine. He also worked for a time as a reporter at the Portland Phoenix.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
April 27, 2018
3.5 stars, rounding down because Irvine's novelisation of the original Pacific Rim was better (in part also because it's a stronger movie), and he occasionally had an irritating tendency to tell rather than show ("Jake was worried because XYZ"). But I still think it's a decent novelisation: it has everything I enjoyed about the movie (found family! plucky cadets! Jake's mouthiness and humour! Jake and Amara's dynamic! everything Shao!), while also improving upon it in places, with some plot holes filled and particularly with the cross-media, epistolary sections added between chapters. It was one of the things I loved best about the previous novelisation, and so I was glad to see the technique repeated: featuring news reports, interviews, PPDC paperwork, all little touches to flesh out this world. I effin love it and want more.
Uprising is still inherently flawed because the movie is flawed, with some shitty plot missteps and some very rushed bonding on the cadets' side, and it will obviously never hold a candle to the original -- but I really do just love every last scrap of information about this universe & setting, so I'll drink it up. Scrappy pilots from several different countries fighting to save the world = my everything. Irvine also writes the kaiju fights pretty well; it's incredibly difficult to convey a fight scene between 3 kaiju and 4 jaegers with 9 pilots in text form without it being a confusing mess, but he pulled it off.
I'm including my favourite scene below because it doesn't format well in the Kindle Highlights feature without linebreaks; but I adore it because we get to briefly hear from a character from the first movie, who I love and dearly missed seeing on-screen for the sequel. Spoilers for the first film below --
Uprising is still inherently flawed because the movie is flawed, with some shitty plot missteps and some very rushed bonding on the cadets' side, and it will obviously never hold a candle to the original -- but I really do just love every last scrap of information about this universe & setting, so I'll drink it up. Scrappy pilots from several different countries fighting to save the world = my everything. Irvine also writes the kaiju fights pretty well; it's incredibly difficult to convey a fight scene between 3 kaiju and 4 jaegers with 9 pilots in text form without it being a confusing mess, but he pulled it off.
I'm including my favourite scene below because it doesn't format well in the Kindle Highlights feature without linebreaks; but I adore it because we get to briefly hear from a character from the first movie, who I love and dearly missed seeing on-screen for the sequel. Spoilers for the first film below --
FC: Herc! Filip Chen, PacAsia Radio. Have you heard about the new Drone proposal from Shao Industries?
HH: Couldn’t avoid it if I wanted to, could I?
FC: What’s your opinion?
HH: On Drones in Jaegers? Dumbest thing I ever heard.
FC: Even after your son died in a Jaeger, it doesn’t seem like a good idea?
HH: My son died in a Jaeger, yeah. And if there hadn’t been Rangers in that Jaeger, and in Gipsy Danger, we’d all be dead. You think a Drone pilot could decide to blow a Jaeger’s reactor and find the manual override? Get out of here.
FC: Still, you have to admit—
HH: I said get the BLEEEEEEP out of here. And don’t ever talk to me about my son again.
May 23, 2018
one star off for the continuity errors and the fact that Alex Irvine's writing is...hm...not great. another star off because apparently he's so insecure in his heterosexuality that he had to take out the two honestly not even that gay moments where Jake comments on Nate being attractive. fuck you, Alex.
June 24, 2018
The paper back has really small print.
January 13, 2025
Format: Audiobook.
This missed the mark for me. Maybe it's because I was listening to the audiobook instead of reading it myself. I really couldn't dive into the story as much as I could with the movies. Even though Pacific Rim was one of my favorite movies of all time this novelization wasn't it. (for me atleast)
This missed the mark for me. Maybe it's because I was listening to the audiobook instead of reading it myself. I really couldn't dive into the story as much as I could with the movies. Even though Pacific Rim was one of my favorite movies of all time this novelization wasn't it. (for me atleast)
September 24, 2025
Oh boy…
Choć tak jak w przypadku pierwszej części forma książki poprawia trochę odbiór – bo jest miejsce i czas na rozwinięcie i przedstawienie wątków – to jak to mówią: z gufna bata nie ukręcisz. Niestety, nawet jeśli Rebelia miała ciekawe pomysły, to już w swoich założeniach położyła je po całości, nie potrafiąc ich dobrze rozwinąć.
Zabrakło tego ,,czegoś” co miał oryginalny Pacific Rim – tożsamości i pazura. Rebelia to wydmuszka, która chyba miała być skierowana stricte dla nastolatków… ale tak bezpieczna i bezpłciowa wydmuszka, że trzeba było mieć talent, by z tak charakternej franczyzy zrobić… no właśnie sama nie wiem co. I dla kogo ostatecznie miało to być. Pacific Rim to kwintesencja czystej, prostej i tak naprawdę bezmyślnej rozrywki – choć jeśli ktoś chce, to znajdzie w tym trochę głębi (chociażby koncepcja Dryfu). A Rebelia? Miałka. Bez własnej tożsamości. Z bohaterami z potencjałem, ale bezpiecznie rozwodnionymi, jakby byli pisani dla programu dla dzieci na Disney Channel. Pan Irvine mógł się starać, ale niewiele mógł tu pomóc. Chyba że zupełnie przepisałby tych bohaterów i historię.
I to mnie najbardziej w Rebelii irytuje – zmarnowany potencjał. Bo były tu ciekawe pomysły, jak choćby ten akademii i dynamika pomiędzy dzieciakami. Wątek Newtona też jest dla mnie jednym z lepszych (lubię gościa i jego combo z Gottliebem, ale cieszę się jednak, że podjęto temat konsekwencji Dryfu z obcymi). Cholera, Jake też miał swoje do dodania z radzeniem sobie z byciem w cieniu ojca. Tylko jest tu jeden problem – tego wszystkiego było na raz za dużo i nic tak naprawdę nie dostało wystarczająco dużo uwagi, na jaką zasługiwało. Za dużo srok za ogon i te się wyrwały i poleciały w piździec.
Pierwszy Pacific Rim był o gościu i lasce, którzy chcieli wpierniczyć obcym. No i przy okazji ocalić świat Tyle. Każdy inny wątek łączył się i sprowadzał do tej jednej, głównej linii. Nic dodatkowo nie rozpraszało. A Rebelia ma za dużo do opowiedzenia na raz, do tego połączone z rozwodnieniem klimatu i charakteru oryginału. To bezpieczny produkt, który stał się miałki, aby mógł trafić do większego grona odbiorców… tylko jak coś jest dla wszystkich, to tak naprawdę dla nikogo. Bo Rebelia potrafiła zabić nawet te plusy, które odziedziczyła po oryginale… Przykłady?
No-ja-pier…-numer-jeden: nastolatka budująca własnego jeagera na złomowisku. Maszynę, którą opracowywano przez lata. Maszynę, będącą najpotężniejszą bronią jaką posiada ludzkość. Maszynę, której sterowanie czyniło ją unikatową. I ta, jasne, był to mniejszy i słabszy model, ale… właśnie wykastrowaliście to, co miało we franczyzie największe cohones. Good job!
No-ja-pier…-numer-dwa: olanie założeń Dryfu. Tu na dobrą sprawę każdy mógł sobie Dryfować z każdym bez żadnego przygotowania i konsekwencji. To po ch…usteczkę ten Dryf, jak równie dobrze mogliby dać im drążki do sterowania? Na jedno by wyszło – czyli poprawienie kastracji dla pewności.
Wszystko jednak ratuje (ale tylko odrobinę) forma książki. Bo porównując ją z filmem – jest lepiej. Jest więcej miejsca, jest więcej czasu, ale naprawić tego wszystkiego do końca się nie dało. Średniak, dla mnie miejscami irytujący, ale znośny.
Choć tak jak w przypadku pierwszej części forma książki poprawia trochę odbiór – bo jest miejsce i czas na rozwinięcie i przedstawienie wątków – to jak to mówią: z gufna bata nie ukręcisz. Niestety, nawet jeśli Rebelia miała ciekawe pomysły, to już w swoich założeniach położyła je po całości, nie potrafiąc ich dobrze rozwinąć.
Zabrakło tego ,,czegoś” co miał oryginalny Pacific Rim – tożsamości i pazura. Rebelia to wydmuszka, która chyba miała być skierowana stricte dla nastolatków… ale tak bezpieczna i bezpłciowa wydmuszka, że trzeba było mieć talent, by z tak charakternej franczyzy zrobić… no właśnie sama nie wiem co. I dla kogo ostatecznie miało to być. Pacific Rim to kwintesencja czystej, prostej i tak naprawdę bezmyślnej rozrywki – choć jeśli ktoś chce, to znajdzie w tym trochę głębi (chociażby koncepcja Dryfu). A Rebelia? Miałka. Bez własnej tożsamości. Z bohaterami z potencjałem, ale bezpiecznie rozwodnionymi, jakby byli pisani dla programu dla dzieci na Disney Channel. Pan Irvine mógł się starać, ale niewiele mógł tu pomóc. Chyba że zupełnie przepisałby tych bohaterów i historię.
I to mnie najbardziej w Rebelii irytuje – zmarnowany potencjał. Bo były tu ciekawe pomysły, jak choćby ten akademii i dynamika pomiędzy dzieciakami. Wątek Newtona też jest dla mnie jednym z lepszych (lubię gościa i jego combo z Gottliebem, ale cieszę się jednak, że podjęto temat konsekwencji Dryfu z obcymi). Cholera, Jake też miał swoje do dodania z radzeniem sobie z byciem w cieniu ojca. Tylko jest tu jeden problem – tego wszystkiego było na raz za dużo i nic tak naprawdę nie dostało wystarczająco dużo uwagi, na jaką zasługiwało. Za dużo srok za ogon i te się wyrwały i poleciały w piździec.
Pierwszy Pacific Rim był o gościu i lasce, którzy chcieli wpierniczyć obcym. No i przy okazji ocalić świat Tyle. Każdy inny wątek łączył się i sprowadzał do tej jednej, głównej linii. Nic dodatkowo nie rozpraszało. A Rebelia ma za dużo do opowiedzenia na raz, do tego połączone z rozwodnieniem klimatu i charakteru oryginału. To bezpieczny produkt, który stał się miałki, aby mógł trafić do większego grona odbiorców… tylko jak coś jest dla wszystkich, to tak naprawdę dla nikogo. Bo Rebelia potrafiła zabić nawet te plusy, które odziedziczyła po oryginale… Przykłady?
No-ja-pier…-numer-jeden: nastolatka budująca własnego jeagera na złomowisku. Maszynę, którą opracowywano przez lata. Maszynę, będącą najpotężniejszą bronią jaką posiada ludzkość. Maszynę, której sterowanie czyniło ją unikatową. I ta, jasne, był to mniejszy i słabszy model, ale… właśnie wykastrowaliście to, co miało we franczyzie największe cohones. Good job!
No-ja-pier…-numer-dwa: olanie założeń Dryfu. Tu na dobrą sprawę każdy mógł sobie Dryfować z każdym bez żadnego przygotowania i konsekwencji. To po ch…usteczkę ten Dryf, jak równie dobrze mogliby dać im drążki do sterowania? Na jedno by wyszło – czyli poprawienie kastracji dla pewności.
Wszystko jednak ratuje (ale tylko odrobinę) forma książki. Bo porównując ją z filmem – jest lepiej. Jest więcej miejsca, jest więcej czasu, ale naprawić tego wszystkiego do końca się nie dało. Średniak, dla mnie miejscami irytujący, ale znośny.
March 17, 2019
The first movie's novelization delved deeper into the Pacific Rim world and made for an incredible audiobook. The Uprising: Ascension novel was surprisingly great, still in the spirit of the first movie, telling an intense story about the affects of the kaiju war on the next generation. This one... not so much. The author is doing his best, but that movie had so many plot problems that he can't make it make sense. I loved that movie, but because of the actors' performances, and the author can't use those, so it's just kind of boring.
Amara is the worst idea for a character -- she deserves nothing and has it all handed to her. There's no reason why the PPDC would just dump this child into an already-existing class of Ranger cadets when she's several years younger, has no prior training, and is a criminal who was dumb enough to think she could just run around in the street in a mini-Jaeger and somehow get away with it. That character should have just been Vik -- she's got the same backstory only compelling, and she's already a cadet. Leave Mako alive to be Jake's sister figure, and then have Vik and the other cadets to be the "we're not sure if we're ready and we have trauma from growing up in the war" characters. But the plot of the movie is what it is, so here we are.
On top of that, much like in his novelization of the first movie, he either didn't pick up on the queer subtexts or didn't want to include them. So, the Newt/Herrman and Nate/Jake relationships just don't make sense anymore. I could understand if they just... weren't gay, but they seem to be stripped of all the intensity they had in an effort to make them not even SEEM gay, so there's no THERE there.
There are some interesting elements in the way the PPDC has progressed, the way Rangers have a different vibe now, more like airmen who have beloved planes -- the jaegers don't have as much personality, and it seems like almost everyone is drift compatible. But that doesn't really go anywhere and may just be another (script)writing problem, losing the uniqueness of the original movie. This book also includes excerpts from reports and news sources at the beginnings of chapters like the first one did, but in this case they don't really add anything and just make bloggers sound suspiciously well-informed.
Amara is the worst idea for a character -- she deserves nothing and has it all handed to her. There's no reason why the PPDC would just dump this child into an already-existing class of Ranger cadets when she's several years younger, has no prior training, and is a criminal who was dumb enough to think she could just run around in the street in a mini-Jaeger and somehow get away with it. That character should have just been Vik -- she's got the same backstory only compelling, and she's already a cadet. Leave Mako alive to be Jake's sister figure, and then have Vik and the other cadets to be the "we're not sure if we're ready and we have trauma from growing up in the war" characters. But the plot of the movie is what it is, so here we are.
On top of that, much like in his novelization of the first movie, he either didn't pick up on the queer subtexts or didn't want to include them. So, the Newt/Herrman and Nate/Jake relationships just don't make sense anymore. I could understand if they just... weren't gay, but they seem to be stripped of all the intensity they had in an effort to make them not even SEEM gay, so there's no THERE there.
There are some interesting elements in the way the PPDC has progressed, the way Rangers have a different vibe now, more like airmen who have beloved planes -- the jaegers don't have as much personality, and it seems like almost everyone is drift compatible. But that doesn't really go anywhere and may just be another (script)writing problem, losing the uniqueness of the original movie. This book also includes excerpts from reports and news sources at the beginnings of chapters like the first one did, but in this case they don't really add anything and just make bloggers sound suspiciously well-informed.
June 11, 2018
I’ve liked Alex Irvine’s novel adaptation of the first movie simply because he stays true to the movie script while adding additional info that the movie would not have been able to cover. Irvine does the same for Uprising, and while I commend his writing skills, he just didn’t have a great material to adapt to a novel. Pacific Rim Uprising was such a disappointment and I was somewhat hoping the novel would answer some questions or at least explain the WTF moments in the film (spoiler alert: it didn’t). It’s not Irvine’s fault, btw. I just wish there was something more to this novel and I wish the author had the liberty to expand the story to at least cover the loopholes the movie exposed. I enjoyed Pacifix Rim Ascension more than this, though.
July 27, 2018
2.5 stars tbh. The film it novelises was okay, so I wasn't expecting the book to be much better. It wasn't bad, but it didn't really expand upon anything from the movie. It was well written, except for the tendency to tell instead of show (so many times just saying that Jake looked worried, or Amara was angry). I think this was probably the thing I disliked most, because the book could have explored the characters and their world so much more, and that would have increased my enjoyment tenfold.
But the book did portray the movie and its story really well. The action was written well considering it followed the movie action scenes to a T.
I won't bother reading it again though.
But the book did portray the movie and its story really well. The action was written well considering it followed the movie action scenes to a T.
I won't bother reading it again though.
April 3, 2018
I picked up this novel for a few reasons.
1: I'm a fan of kaiju.
2:I loved the original film and the novelization.
3: I'm a fan of Alex Irvine.
I have yet to see Pacific Rim Uprising, but I loved this book from start to finish. The action scenes were well written, decent amount of humor here and there, and Irvine painted a good picture of what was going on. Whether you watch the movie or not, I recommend this book to anyone that was a fan of the first film. I hope to see more books published for this franchise.
1: I'm a fan of kaiju.
2:I loved the original film and the novelization.
3: I'm a fan of Alex Irvine.
I have yet to see Pacific Rim Uprising, but I loved this book from start to finish. The action scenes were well written, decent amount of humor here and there, and Irvine painted a good picture of what was going on. Whether you watch the movie or not, I recommend this book to anyone that was a fan of the first film. I hope to see more books published for this franchise.
April 11, 2018
Great book that really adds to the movie experience. I wish the movie kept Raleigh's fate, as stated in this book, and didn't scrap it. It was sad, yeah, but it also added so much to the first movie's pilots' sacrifice.
I'm subtracting one star from the full deck because I wish the book had gone deeper, emotionally deeper, that is, in some scenes, like the one during the final battle, with what happened to Nate. It offered so much potential for the exploration of the Drift in a situation like that. Alas.
I'm subtracting one star from the full deck because I wish the book had gone deeper, emotionally deeper, that is, in some scenes, like the one during the final battle, with what happened to Nate. It offered so much potential for the exploration of the Drift in a situation like that. Alas.
May 27, 2018
I thought it was great and many things I noticed I missed in the movie but the World makes more sense when you read the Prequel first, and the comics.. as well as either watching Pacific Rim 1 or reading it. Love this world Del Toro is AMAZING, as well as everyone who worked on this project and built this awesome world of Kaiju Monsters vs Humans to life!
July 15, 2019
Not a bad book. I’ve seen the first movie, haven’t seen the second one but I liked this book. I didn’t expect Newt at all! I thought the lady scientist/engineer (I forgot her name) was behind it all. I wonder what they’re gonna do with Newt? Can they get him back to his usual self or in prison him forever or even kill him.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 11, 2025
as the Uprising - Ascension book, it wasn't a great read.
took me some days to finish it.
it has some interesting stuff that weren't in the movie, but not enough to make it better than the movie.
i'm a fan of the first Pacific Rim movie, and the novel of the first movie was enjoyable.
this one not so much, as was so also the movie.
3 out of 5.
took me some days to finish it.
it has some interesting stuff that weren't in the movie, but not enough to make it better than the movie.
i'm a fan of the first Pacific Rim movie, and the novel of the first movie was enjoyable.
this one not so much, as was so also the movie.
3 out of 5.
November 16, 2021
Again, after watching the movie I had hoped for more details when reading the book, no such luck. I like both movie and book but I still wish the book was more then just a screen play as they say.
January 20, 2023
Story as like the movie was relatively week but it was well done adaptation and enabled easy visualization.
April 5, 2025
Was looking for this book to expand on the god awful film but it doesn't really. Solid narrator, but maybe Uprising just couldn't be saved.
August 31, 2024
2023 Review 115. Pacific Rim Uprising by Alex Irvine
Page Count : 297
Pacific Rim Uprising is the sequel to the original movie, Pacific Rim and like the other two books in this set massively expands on the detail.
This book also expands on the character of Amara Namani, the young girl who builds a Jaeger out of stolen parts before being recruited into the Pan Pacific Defense Corps.
This book is a fantastic sequel to Pacific Rim and follows immediately on from the prequel (Pacfic Rim Uprising Ascension) and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I will most definitely read this book and the other 2 books in this series again in the future.
If you enjoy the films, then I recommend this book as it will give even more detail to the film.
5*
*****
Page Count : 297
Pacific Rim Uprising is the sequel to the original movie, Pacific Rim and like the other two books in this set massively expands on the detail.
This book also expands on the character of Amara Namani, the young girl who builds a Jaeger out of stolen parts before being recruited into the Pan Pacific Defense Corps.
This book is a fantastic sequel to Pacific Rim and follows immediately on from the prequel (Pacfic Rim Uprising Ascension) and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I will most definitely read this book and the other 2 books in this series again in the future.
If you enjoy the films, then I recommend this book as it will give even more detail to the film.
5*
*****
November 13, 2018
The book is a regular book to me but it had a good story and it was more fun especially with the sci-fi edge to it and it was exciting with the explosions and the way it plays a spy-role kind of story
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 4, 2021
I saw the first movie, then listened to this audiobook. I think it actually works pretty well as a sci-fi novel.
For my interview with the author listen in here:
https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/al...
For my interview with the author listen in here:
https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/al...
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews